Allison and Jack left the wedding as soon as they could. They were happy for Henry and Grace but not really in any mood to celebrate. As they drove home, the auditor's pronouncement hung in the air between them. Neither of them could think of anything else, but they didn't know what to say about it either. When they got to her house, Jack waited quietly while Allison talked with the nanny about the kids and then they went upstairs.

The silence continued when they got to her room. Jack pulled her to him and simply held her close. He reached up to stroke her cheek and then leaned in for a soft kiss. The sadness in the room was palitable. Their love making had a bittersweet quality to it that night, as though they both feared this might be the last time.

Afterward, Jack laid in bed next to her, enjoying just holding her close to him. He was devastated by the evening's turn of events. There was no winning. The only way they could stay together was to leave Eureka. Allison might go for it at first, but he thought she would surely come to resent him for it eventually. Her position at GD was more than a job, it was her passion and she did it so damn well. He couldn't ask her to give it all up for him.

He waited until Allison was fast asleep. Then he quietly got up and dressed. He drove home quickly and did what he had to do. He drove back to Allison's house and quietly crept back upstairs and left a package and an envelope on his pillow. He stood still, just watching her for several minutes. Then he bent and kissed her ever so gently. There were tears in his eyes as he left her house for the last time.

As he drove away from Eureka, he couldn't be sorry he'd come here. He would treasure his time with Allison forever. But he knew he had to leave. He just couldn't watch it all fall apart.

[][][]

When she awoke in the morning, Jack wasn't there. She thought that he might be downstairs with Jenna, but she hadn't heard her daughter wake up. She glanced at his pillow and saw there was an envelope and a ring box on his pillow. She opened the box and saw an astonishing engagement ring. There was no way it could be anything else. It was a gorgeous emerald cut diamond in a platinum setting. The sight made tears come to her eyes. He'd said last night that they would fix this. He must have really believed it. But why would Jack propose in a letter? That didn't seem his style. Shakily, she reached for the letter and opened it

Allison,

I love you more than you can possibly know. So much so that your happiness means more to me than my own. That's why I waited while you and Nathan worked things out. It almost killed me to watch you plan your wedding, grieve his loss, carry his child. But I waited, hoping our day would come. And when it finally did, when we were finally together, it was better than anything I had imagined. You make me happier than I ever knew I could be.

I bought this ring for you not too long ago. I wasn't sure when we'd be ready, but I knew I wanted to marry you. I wanted us to be a family; I wanted to be a father to Jenna and Kevin. I can't imagine anything better in this world.

But this is a no-win situation. We can't be together if we stay and I can't ask you to leave Eureka, your home, for me– For four years, I watched you love someone else. Every day it broke my heart a little more. I can't go through that again. I can't stay and not be with you again. I wish I was strong enough to but I just can't...

Please know, I will love you forever.

Jack

She stared in horror at the letter. He was going to leave and she had to stop him.

She left as soon as the nanny got there. When she got to Jack's place, SARAH let her in. She breathed a sigh of relief when she say everything downstairs was the same. Maybe he'd had a change of heart.

Then she checked his bedroom and her heart plummeted. There on his dresser were his badge and gun. The photo of the two of them that was usually there was gone. With dread, she opened his closet. It was empty, except for his sheriff's uniforms. He was gone. He really had left her.

She laid down on the bed that smelled so much like him and cried. She just couldn't believe that this had really happened, that he was really gone.

[][][]

Eureka was abuzz with the news. Both Jack and Allison were gone. No one had seen Jack since the wedding. Allison's nanny had seen her the next morning but said she'd been clearly upset when he got there. No one had seen her since. Jo tracked down the auditor and was livid when she heard what he'd recommended. She thought she should definitely get karma points for not shooting him. Not that that was completely out of the question in the future.

Zane hacked SARAH and they discovered that while Jack was not there, Allison was. But she wouldn't let SARAH open the door and wouldn't answer any communication attempts. The nanny agreed to stay with her kids for the night and Jo and Zane asked SARAH to tell Allison that. Then they left.

[][][]

Allison woke on the third day and realized she couldn't accept this. She could fix this, just like Jack had said they would. She went home, showered and dressed for work. Before she left she took the ring Jack had bought her and slipped it on the ring finger of her left hand. She didn't care what people thought. She needed the tangible reminder of his love for her. She spent the next three days on the phone with the auditor, General Mansfield and anyone else at the DOD she could get on the line. No one at GD was sure what to think as Allison spent each day locked in her office – usually yelling at whoever she was on the phone with. But at the end of the third day, she had succeeded. The powers that be had conceded that she and Jack had worked well together for the last four years and they could continue to do so.

It took her almost another month to track Jack down. A week of badgering everyone in town proved no one here knew where he was. Two more weeks with Zoe dodging her calls were testament to Zoe's Carter stubbornness. It was time for more drastic measures

Several days later, Allison sat in the office of the dean of Harvard Medical School, who was also in charge of Zoe's early admission pre-med program. For a while, she and the dean reminisced about their days together in medical school and then Allison explained what she needed.

The two women headed to the science building where most of the pre-med students were in class right now. The dean went in the classroom while Allison waited in the hall. When the dean returned, Zoe was following her with a concerned look on her face. She smiled when she saw Allison and gave her a big hug. The dean excused herself and Zoe and Allison found some nearby chairs to sit in.

Zoe started, "What are you doing here, Allison?"

"I think you know," said Allison. The guilty look on Zoe's face confirmed that fact.

"He begged me not to tell you where he is but I think he's being an idiot." Zoe admitted.

Nervously, Allison asked, "How is he, Zoe?"

Allison could tell Zoe didn't want to answer, but she began anyway, "He's … well... he's not good. He's … distant and sad. He misses you," She looked at Allison and saw tears in her eyes.

Allison replied, softly "I miss him, too."

Zoe noticed the ring on Allison's hand, but didn't say anything about it. Not yet, anyway... She reached into her bag for pen and paper. She scribbled the information down and handed it to Allison. Zoe gave her another hug and headed back to class.

[][][]

Jack stumbled to the kitchen for coffee. He hadn't slept well the night before. Hell, he hadn't slept well at all since he'd left Eureka. It was harder than he'd expected. He hoped it would get better with time but he no longer expected it to. The only thing that helped was thinking about Allison, surrounded by friends, still in Eureka, still working at GD. He hoped, prayed, she was happy. Oh, he knew she'd be pissed at him for leaving, but he thought that given time, she'd see the reason behind his decision. She would see that Eureka was too important to her to give it up for him. He picked up the picture he'd taken from his bedroom in Eureka and stared at her. Then, sighing, he got ready for another long day.

Later that afternoon, Jack was sitting at his desk in the D.C. Marshall's Office trying to concentrate on the case file in front of him. He wasn't having any luck. The dreams of Allison last night had been particularly vivid and he'd had even less sleep than usual.

He'd left Eureka just over a month ago and it had not gotten easier. Everywhere he went, someone or something reminded him of Allie. He would smell her perfume, or see a woman with hair like hers, or hear a laugh that sounded familiar. The days were torture. But the nights were worse. He lay in bed unable to sleep, reliving every moment they had together, needing it not to be over. But it was. He put his head down on his desk and closed his eyes. Life really sucked some times.

"Jack Carter, What the hell do you think you're doing?" came a voice from the doorway. He heard the door close as the person entered. He started, thinking it was his boss, though it sounded a lot like Allison. Was he hallucinating about her now, too? He heard the sound of the blinds closing. "I fly all the way across the country to find you and you're really going to ignore me?" The voice was closer now and … was that Allie's perfume? He really was going crazy.

He slowly lifted his head and looked at the speaker. Shock registered on his face. Allison was here, looking none too happy, on the other side of his desk. He was speechless. She, however, was not. "Jack, I never figured you for an idiot. Did you really think I would just roll over and take what the DOD was trying to do to us? Three days. That's all it took me to make them back off. Three lousy days. Now, finding you? That took much longer."

He watched her berate him, still not entirely convinced she was real. Then he saw a shimmer from her left hand. God, she was wearing his ring. What did...

"Jack you had better listen to me," she interrupted his thoughts. "Where do you get off proposing and breaking up with me in the same letter! A letter! What could you possibly have been thinking?" she demanded.

"Allison, " he started to say, "I'm sorry, but I" She cut him off with a gesture. He watched her slowly walk around his desk until she was standing beside him. She reached out and turned his chair until it faced her. She reached for his hands and pulled him up to stand. She smiled briefly as they both shuddered at the first contact. He looked... terrible.

He started to explain, "I thought you would eventually hate me if you left Eureka. I didn't see any other way. I wanted you to be happy..." She laid a finger against his mouth to shush him.

"What made you think I could ever be happy without you?" She asked softly, before leaning in to kiss him. His arms snaked around her and he groaned with the how good she felt in his arms. "I have never before questioned your intelligence, but this has to be the stupidest thing you have ever done." She admonished before leaning in for a longer, deeper kiss.

"Sorry," he mumbled against her mouth. Then he pulled back, confused. "How the hell did you get in here? This is a US Marshall's office. You need an escort." he asked.

"Seriously, have you forgotten how high my security clearance is? And who I know at the DOD? Getting in was a piece of cake." She laughed. Then she noticed that as he held her hand he was running his finger lightly over the ring she wore, the ring he had given her. "But getting you to propose properly, " she continued, "that's not been quite as easy."

He grinned. "Marry me, Allie."

"I thought you'd never ask." She replied with a smile before kissing him again.

His coworkers glanced at his door, curious about his visitor. She'd had more clearance than they knew you could have and had been able to go directly to his office without being questioned. They were curious alright, but not stupid enough to interrupt. Which was a good thing. Only the two people in the office together had a need to about the current activities of the office occupants.

[][][]

Three months later, all of Eureka had turned out for the wedding. Jack stood in his tuxedo waiting for Allison. His breath caught as she entered, she was stunning. Their eyes met as she walked slowly towards him. Henry read the words and the both repeated their parts. Everyone chuckled with Henry added a part about promising not to let the government dictate their relationship, but they repeated that too. Jack's heart leaped when he heard the words, "You may kiss the bride." As he leaned in to kiss, Allison,now his wife, he thought about how all the heartbreak and drama that it took to get to this moment, were worth it. Totally and completely worth it.